Think First

“When angry count to ten before you speak. If very angry, count to one hundred” – Thomas Jefferson

For the Parent::Battle Cry

As implied in the Thomas Jefferson quote above, it is incredibly important to keep our anger in check. But why? If we’re honest, the significance of this quote extends to far more than just anger and our ability to control it. The true matter lies with the Wisdom of controlling our emotions in general and not acting on them without taking ten seconds (or maybe one hundred) to think things through. The Warrior Poet does not base his actions upon anger, fear, or anxiety, but neither is he lulled into a false sense of security by temporary positive emotions like happiness. We want our kids (and yours) to grow up to be adults who won’t simply react to their emotions, but who will first think through them and act accordingly.

For Your Son::Call to Arms

I’ve got a riddle for you. What is something that all people possess, but few people can control? This thing is what makes us human, yet also causes many of the problems in the world. Any ideas? If you guessed feelings or emotions, you’re right!

Now, that doesn’t mean that feelings are bad, or that we should hide our emotions. It just means that sometimes when we don’t think through things, we can get ourselves in trouble. We are not robots without feelings, but neither are we wild beasts without the ability to reason. Therefore, we must balance our emotions with our thoughts. Which brings me to my point - ALWAYS THINK FIRST. Acting or speaking rashly based on our temporary feelings is a recipe for disaster. The Warrior Poet does not act upon anger, fear, sadness, happiness or any other emotion. He takes the time to think through every situation before coming up with the best plan of action.

Weekend Activity

This upcoming weekend, write down a list of emotions (they can be either positive or negative). Give the list to your Warrior Poet and have him think of a way that each of those feelings can lead to mistakes if not kept in check. For instance, if the emotion were jealousy, you might answer that jealousy is a major reason that people steal things that don’t belong to them. Let us know how the discussion goes!